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Set in the autumn of 1941 in Salty Creek, a fishing village in South Carolina, the film tells the dramatic story of interracial lovers swept up in the tides of history. As World War II rages in Europe a wounded Asian stranger, Mr. Ohta, appears in the town under mysterious circumstances. Sophie, a native of Salty Creek, quickly becomes transfixed by Mr. Ohta and a friendship born of their mutual love of art blossoms into a delicate and forbidden courtship. As their secret relationship evolves the war escalates tragically. When Pearl Harbor is bombed, a surge of misguided patriotism, bigotry and violence sweeps through the town, threatening Mr. Ohta’s life. A trio of women, each with her own secrets – Sophie, along with the town matriarch and her housekeeper – rejects law and propriety, risking their lives with their actions. Based on the novel by Augusta Trobaugh.

Meet & greet: Meet the special guest, buy a DVD and get it signed, too!

Time:7:00pm, museum doors reopen at 6:00pm

Run time 1 hour 56 minutes

Tickets sales are now closed.

Please note: Our theater tends to be quite cold, therefore, you may want to bring a sweater or jacket with you.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Maggie Greenwald

Maggie Greenwald, director and screenplay writer of Sophie and the Rising Sun, is an award-winning writer-director whose films have been shown in film festivals around the world. Her noir classic, The Kill-Off, based on a Jim Thompson novel is listed as one of the “100 greatest American Independent Films’” by the British Film Institute, while her ground-breaking, revisionist Western, The Ballad of Little Jo has become essential to film history study of that genre. Both Songcatcher and Sophie and the Rising Sun premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the former in Dramatic competition where it garnered a Special Jury Award for Ensemble Performance and the latter as the alt Lake City Gala World Premiere in 2016. Maggie also directs for television, both films and episodic.

Nancy Dickenson

Nancy Dickenson, producer of Sophie and the Rising Sun, has also produced Home of the Brave​, Rooted Lands and One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story. Nancy has been supporting projects in the arts, education, human rights and animal welfare for over 40 years. She is an advocate for public arts education, animal welfare, Israeli/Palestinian peace initiatives and other community issues.

Takashi Yamaguchi

Takashi Yamaguchi, lead actor in Sophie and the rising Sun, has also starred in Gabriel Robertson’s feature film Ni’ihau, appeared alongside Gary Sinise and Alana de la Garza on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, acted in The 8th Samurai directed by Justin Ambrosino, worked alongside Clint Eastwood in the Academy Award nominated film Letters from Iwo Jima and worked on Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai featuring Tom Cruise. With over 25 years of industry experience both in theater and film, Yamaguchi began his acting career in Kyoto, Japan and has performed in over 50 productions. In addition to acting, he has also experienced success in modeling and voice-over. Yamaguchi’s journey in acting is also complemented by his stage combat skills which cover a variety of weapons and tactical choreography, expertise in Japanese Sword Fighting and Shorinji Kenpo, as well as training in Jeet Kune Do and Kali, a Filipino martial art. Currently, he has expanded his career and now lives and works in Hollywood, California.